Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 647: The invitation.

Zevran’s face turned so red that she looked like an overripe tomato that was ready to explode. "Do you think this is funny?" she shouted.

Sunshine looked at the chuckling faces in the room. "I mean...." she gestured to them with her hands. She sat comfortably in her chair, refusing to shrink under the disapproving stares of some individuals.

Zevran had it in for her and the woman was behind this new law. Obviously, it was done to make other repairmen hate her. So, she was going to give as good as she got.

"Are you like this because of the Glacis King’s backing?" Zevran asked, glaring at Sunshine. "Do you think we cannot fire you? This is why females should not be repairmen, she screamed. You cannot just focus on your jobs. You must spread your legs and bring complications here."

There was gasping.

"Well, I learned how to spread them from you." Sunshine replied. "How else did a female like you become a member of the council?"

More gasping.

Seeing the tension rise, Commander Melvin cleared his throat and stepped forward again. "That will be enough," he barked.

He continued with the closing remarks quickly, wrapping up the meeting sooner than was intended.

Soon the assembly ended.

Repairmen began leaving the hall in groups, some waving at Sunshine. Some giving her a thumbs up. Some looking at her with pity.

Near the front, the council members gathered together in conversation, pointing fingers and hissing.

As some began to disperse, Sunshine hurried forward. "Commander Melvin," she called. "May I have a moment?"

Before he could answer, Zevran spoke loudly from behind him. "Your request about the Maximus fortune is already being handled. You do not have to bug the commander about it every single second!"

Sunshine stopped, confused. "That’s not what I wanted to talk about."

Zevran rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh? Well then," she said impatiently, "what did you want?"

Commander Melvin gestured calmly. "Go ahead, Sunshine."

Sunshine hesitated for a moment. Then she spoke. "I wanted to ask if there is a way I could be helped... to stop mutants from coming to Earth. We can deal with the other problems but..."

Zevran immediately scoffed. "Perhaps you should first stop annoying the residents of the worlds you visit. You are earth’s biggest problem."

Sunshine stared at her. "I’m sorry?"

Zevran crossed her arms. "The Noxians have sent a formal request to this organization."

Sunshine’s stomach dropped.

"They demanded the hand over of repairman Rocky for breaking their laws." Zevran smirked. "I have your name, face and location ready to go."

"What?" Sunshine shouted. "You’re supposed to protect me!"

Commander Melvin raised a hand. "Calm down."

He spoke calmly. "We would never release such information. Especially when they did not specify what laws were broken. Zevran knows the consequences of leaking that information. It is death from the organization, no trial."

Sunshine exhaled in relief.

"You are safe, "he assured her. Then his tone softened slightly. "But I must be honest with you. This organization cannot interfere in the problems of your world."

Sunshine’s shoulders slowly slumped.

"You will have to deal with those matters yourself." He patted her shoulder and left.

The words felt heavier than she expected.

She had hoped... maybe the council would guide her. Maybe they would point her somewhere helpful. But they were more useless than she had expected.

"Ha! Foolish girl." Zevran lowered her veil and walked away. "You better watch your back." She whispered but Sunshine heard her clearly.

The rest of the council members began walking away, one by one. Sunshine remained still, standing quietly.

Nine approached her and gently squeezed her shoulder. Then he leaned close and whispered. "Let’s talk privately."

Sunshine nodded.

A second later, both of them vanished.

They reappeared inside Sunshine’s hidden space.

"Don’t," She snapped, catching Nine as his jaw began to drop at the sight of the shelves. "Do not admire the anything or stretch your claws to do some shopping. Tell me what you know about Xylos. Now."

Nine pulled his gaze away from the sandwiches, looking a bit like a kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar. He sighed, the awe in his eyes replaced by a heavy, weary shadow.

"It’s a pity, really," he said softly. "That you actually grew a sprout of hope that the Repairman Council would help you."

Sunshine paused, her hand hovering over a control panel. "I just had to ask .....I have too much to lose."

He shook his head. "The higher ups on the council have seen worlds collapse before, Sunshine. Entire civilizations. They call them ’allies’ in the paperwork, but when the wars start? They don’t even raise a finger to help. They just watch the planet go out and update their ledgers."

The words hit her like a cold draft. Sunshine ran her fingers through her hair, gripping the strands until her scalp stung. She slumped into a nearby foldable chair. "I figured as much from the amusement on Zevran’s face," she muttered, staring at her boots. "My problem starts in Xylos. I’d bet my life on it."

Nine sat down across from her, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "Look, I’m going to disappoint you right out of the gate: I don’t know much, only rumors."

"Start talking anyway," Sunshine growled.

He snatched an orange from the floor and tossed it into the air, catching it with his other claw. "The Xylas... they’re war hungry. But they aren’t just muscle; they’re smart. They play tricks, stage ’accidents,’ and whisper in the right ears to get other people to start the wars for them. Every planet has alienated them. They’re the cosmic equivalent of that one neighbor everyone has a restraining order against."

He paused, his voice dropping an octave. "And they’re obsessed with the Prime Core. If even one piece falls on another world, they come knocking. It’s like an invitation to go to a party. Personally, I think they send the invitation out themselves."

"Then Earth is fucked because we have a prime core," Sunshine muttered. She let out a low, frustrated growl that sounded more like a cornered animal than a pilot. "Is that it? That’s all you’ve got. ’They’re mean and they like shiny things’?"

"I’m a repairman, not a walking encyclopedia!" Nine defended.

"Do you at least have a picture of what they look like? A sketch? A blurry Polaroid?"

Nine shook his head, looking genuinely guilty. "Nothing, no one knows what a Xylas looks like."

Sunshine groaned, throwing her head back. "Great. We’re hunting ghosts."

"Wait, wait!" Nine held up his hands before she could kick the chair. "I saved the best for last. I have a friend; I told you about him. He’s... well, he’s a bit shy, and he hates talking about his past, but he has a lot of information on them...problem is he won’t talk to me."

Sunshine’s eyes snapped open. "Why didn’t you start with that? Take me to him. Where is he?"

"He lives in Salom," Nine said. He looked a little nervous about the prospect of the visit. "But fair warning, he’s not big on guests."

"He’ll love me, everybody loves me," Sunshine said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she stood up. "System, I have three free passes, take us to Salom now."